


Desire's Choice

by tfwshems



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-19 23:09:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9464630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tfwshems/pseuds/tfwshems
Summary: Inquisitor Arden Fenassan is back in the Emprise Du Lion to deal with the Sahrnia quarry after picking up a tip that there would be clues about Samson's whereabouts. While Freezing alone in her tent, Arden gets an unexpected visitor.





	1. Cold

**Author's Note:**

> My first fanfiction that I'm uploading! I don't have a beta but hmu on tumblr (choicespirits) if you'd be interested!

It was cold. 

Arden was back in the Emprise du Lion to finish clearing out the quarry of Red Templars and finally find out the location of Coryphesus’ right hand man Samson, on Cullen’s request. 

It was mid winter and it was storming outside and Arden’s teeth were chattering, she was under many blankets and furs but could quite keep herself warm. She even thought risking a fire spell to warm herself up but did not want to reveal herself as a mage.

A strong gust of wind then shook her tent, the flap of the opening flew open and let more cold air enter. She curled under the furs more tightly to stay warm. After the wind subsided, Arden leaned up from her position on the group to see if anything had blown into the tent. The only thing she noticed was a black raven that must have been blown into her room. It flapped its wings and hoped around her tent, inching closer to her- to warmth. 

Then suddenly the bird disappeared and in its spot was replaced with a dashingly handsome man.

Imshael.

Arden tried her best not to scream but a small yelp came out of her mouth and she made eye contact with him. 

He gave her one of his signature smirks and Arden found herself glaring at him. She had _Thought_ she left him behind in Skyhold- They had kept their relationship a secret for now. She didn’t want to draw any attention to themselves by bringing him along on missions all the time.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered to him, still shivering. She was sitting up now, a blanket thrown across her shoulders to keep her warm.

“Ah there you are.” He spoke as if they were back in Skyhold, meeting each other in the gardens. 

“You’re not supposed to be here” She reworded her question, hissing softly. She did not want to wake the others and alert them to the spirit currently residing in her tent. 

“It was taking too long for you to get back, If finished my other duties and was bored.” he spoke, unimpressed and a little offended that Arden wasn’t more welcoming. “If I’m not wanted then i’ll just leave-“ He spoke stiffly. But Arden interrupted him.

“If you’re here, you might as well get over here” she grumbled. “I’m freezing and you’re always so warm” she spoke begrudgingly. 

Imshael’s face bore a grin as he crawled over to her and began to strip out of his clothing.

“Uhg, you don’t have to get naked”

“The less layers i wear the faster you’ll be warm” he teased. And Arden rolled her eyes at that.

His chest bare and most of his clothing gone, Imshael pealed back the blankets and furs and crawled into Arden’s bedroll. He squirmed until he got comfortable, putting his arms around Arden’s tiny form. She squirmed as well, she pressed her head against his chest and sighed in content. She could already feel herself getting warmer and toastier. He was so warm and she didn’t know why, she suspected demons would be cold considering their nature.

“Choice. Spirit.” He spoke softly. Correcting her mistake. He sure disliked having to correct her.

Slowly but surely Arden’s shivering came to a stop. Imshael pulled the furs closer around her.

They didn’t talk much, just enjoyed being in each other’s presence. They did bicker, Imshael asked her how the the Lion was without his presence.

“Less of a pain in the ass, I don’t have to deal with _your_ red lyrium operation.”

Which earned Arden a small flick to her forehead. She whined and he apologized, kissing her head softly.

Unable to sleep himself, Imshael found it amusing watching Arden slowly drift off to sleep. He kept His arms firmly around her until the early morning.


	2. Two Can Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arden and Imshael travel with the party to the Sahrnia quarry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two! No real outline here, just probably a punches of connected drabbles about Arden and Imshael interacting with each other before they become public with their relationship! Follow me on Tumblr @ choicespirits!

Arden woke up that morning cold but well rested, Imshael was not there when she woke up. Probably for the better, she didn’t want anyone to see a demon leave her tent in the morning. Pulling her armor back on, Arden made her way out of her tent, the fire was roaring as a scout began making camp’s breakfast. Across the fire she spot Imshael talking amongst Varric and Solas.

“Morning Birdie, didn’t know that you sent word for your….special fade friend here to join us.” Varric spoke first, yawning. 

“Uhh well, I thought with his involvement with the Red Lyrium trade might be beneficial when we head into the quarry today.” She spoke, thinking on her feet. 

Solas said nothing but gave her a look, as if he knew something more. 

Arden sat next to imshael on one of the wooden benches surrounding the fire as they ate breakfast- well Imshael didn’t eat but the rest of them did. After breakfast the party, consisting now of Varric, Solas, Blackwall and Imshael, gathered their gear for today’s trek into the mines. When Arden thought they were ready to go, Imshael spoke up

“Inquisitor, why don’t _I_ get a staff too?” he whined.

“ You’re a de-“ She began to speak, but he eyed her and she changed her course. “ You’re a spirit I’m sure you can manipulate the fade well enough without a staff.” She replied, unimpressed.

“Yes, but the rest of your mage friends get access to supplies and gear, why don’t I?” he continued to complain.

Arden let out a loud sigh. She wanted to scream. He was doing this on purpose. Forcing interactions between the two of them, so that she’d say the wrong thing in front of the wrong person and end up revealing their relationship to the inquisition. 

“You know what, fine, we keep extra gear over there go pick out a staff and hurry up.” She spoke a bit snippy. And pointed to the supply tent. 

She tapped her foot impatiently as waited for him to pick out a staff, once out of the tent, he smiled a toothy grin at her. In response she rolled her eyes. 

“Shall we proceed then?” Solas spoke and Arden nodded, matching to the front of the party and led the way from Suledin Keep to the Sahrnia quarry. 

The walk was tense, but eased up once Varric began telling the party a story from their Kirkwall adventures, Imshael listened with an amused smirk and when Arden caught his glance he waggled his eyebrows at her. She quickly looked away, hoping the blush on her face wasn’t too obvious. 

He was truly an attractive man,,,er spirit. Technically he was possessing a body, maybe she could just date the host of the body and leave the demon part out of the equation. She heard a soft, offended gasp that came from Imshael’s direction and she had to fight to hide her smirk. 

Two could play at this game. 

If Imshael was going to press her then she’d do the same.

Her thoughts began to wander to their first night together.Back when Arden had gotten on her knees for him.

Arden seemed to be the innocent type when it came to intimacy but she knew a lot more than she let on.She wasn’t a new lover but she didn't have much experience.

Anders had been her first lover and then there was that girl she met in the Emerald Graves after the Mage rebellion started. And then there was Solas but that was complicated. The tensions were there but Solas never gave into the desire. Then their relationship ended and the one thing she craved she could not have.

Maybe that's why she was so attracted to this desire demon. She’s given the physical intimacy she’s really wanted. Something Solas was never willing to give.

So Arden walked along, the vivid imagery of the night Arden sucked imshael off and then proceeded to fuck her into the night. And nobody could read her thoughts, besides Imshael. 

She wanted to turn around to see his expression but she didn’t know if she should risk it. She tried her best to keep his flushing at a minimum but luckily the cold of the Empire Du Lion made her face extremely red already. She dared to turn around to view.

As if he knew she’d turn around, he made eye contact with her and to put it simply. He was not pleased. His eyes shined dangerously, the redness was unsettling and Arden felt a shiver go down her spine. Perhaps she had gone to far; for a second she was scared, she was playing with fire after all. He may be a lover to her now but he was still a Forbidden One.

At her acknowledgment of his status his frown quirks upward a bit, barely noticeable but there. 

‘Be careful not to anger me little one, you will regret it’

His voice rang clear in her head and she quickly turned away to hide her surprise.

“Inquisitor are you alright? Is something wrong?” Solas spoke up. Dammit she wasn’t able to hide her shocked expression from the party. Varric gave her a curious looking, painted with worry.

“My apologies it seems I startled the poor girl with my powers” Imshael spoke out loud, a shit eating grin on his face. 

“ I don't trust this,,,,,thing” Varric spoke bluntly. “Birdie I know you’re in charge but was it really the best idea to bring him along? He’s creepy” He shot imshael a disapproving look

“I’m not creepy! But finally someone not scared enough to speak their mind, I might actually like your, dwarf.”

“I agree with Varric, I don’t trust this demon one bit” Blackwall responded 

“It's Choice. Spirit, _Warden_ Blackwall” Imshael spoke, with an odd emphasis on ‘Warden’, it seemed to freak Blackwall freak out enough. Arden knew Imshael could read her friends’ thoughts. What were they hiding? What was Imshael keeping from her? She’d have to remember to ask him the next time they were alone.

“Perhaps we should have kept him behind” Solas spoke flatly

“Oh Solas you are absolutely _dreadful_ ” Imshael spoke with a smirk, as if he were proud of himself over something. Solas looked visibly shaken as well.

“Stop harassing my friends Imshael” Arden spoke, annoyed. She was very tired of all this.

“We’re almost to the Quarry we need to focus.” She spoke again and turned back around to continue leading the party. She walked quickly to get a few feet ahead of the whole party.

After an hour more of walking They arrived at the Sarnhia Quarry. Outside the entrance, there was a caged chart full of prisoners, begging to be let out. Arden quickly rushed to the cage and began working at picking the lock and set the people free.

She looked up to see a small party of red Templars making their way towards the cage.

“Get ready everyone” She whispered. She stealthily walked around the cart to flank and backstab the enemy. She cloaked herself in shadows and snuck up on the Templars from behind. She pulled her daggers out and held them high, coming out of the shadows she stabbed downwards at the nearest Templar. And the rest of her party came to her aid. 

Blackwall rushed forward and bashed two Templars down wtth his shield, From a short distance away Solas froze two Templars with a spell as Varric shot them both down. While Imshael walked towards the remaining Templar, not even using his staff he waved his hand before the Templar and it suddenly began to turn into itself as until it was nothing. 

The whole party, including Arden stood in shock a what they had just saw. Arden had never seen Imshael in Combat before. Even without a staff he was a force to be reckoned with.

“Show off” She mumbled affectionately, she was at a safe distance so only Imshael could hear. 

“If you thought that was impressive I have more tricks up my sleeve. Shall we continue, Inquisitor?”

“Are you sure you’re not a spirit of Pride?” She snarked, as she sheathed her daggers and continued on into the quarry.


	3. Warm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After clearing up the quarry, the Inquisitor and party makes it back to camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three is up!! Once again im editing this myself so i'm sorry for any errors!

The party cleared a path through the quarry slaying red templars and freed the citizens of Sahrnia along the way. In the process Arden witness some pretty terrified battle moves on Imshael’s behalf. He barely used the staff and he used  _ blood magic  _ of all things. Of course the blood magic part didn’t bother Varric or her too much, since they were used to its company back in Kirkwall. But Blackwall seemed visibly unsettled by it. Whatever Solas thought, he kept silent about it.

After sorting through the information in the quarry, the party came to the conclusion that Samson was long since gone.

“We were too late to find him here, but we’re not at a dead end. Let’s get this information back to Cullen so we can make our final stand against this guy” Arden spoke, collecting the information she had found and packing it into her bag. “Mission accomplished, let’s head back to Suledin Keep and then leave for Skyhold in the morning.”

On the walk back Arden stayed in the rear, letting Varric, Solas, Imshael and Blackwall ahead of her. As they walked Imshael slowed his step until he was walking side by side next to Arden.

“My feet hurt” He complained. “you people sure do a lot of walking, don’t you get sick of it?”

“Field work is important.” Arden grumbled. “What’s next? You’re going to make me carry you all the way back?”

“No but i have a better idea.” Imshael smirked stopping in place for a moment until he was gone and replaced with a large raven. He flapped his wings a for a few moments before gliding over to sit on Arden shoulders.

_ ‘Much better’   _ His voice rang in her mind.

‘ _ You are such an asshole’  _

The party was silent the rest of the journey back to Suledin Keep. She was glad to be back at the keep, Imshael was right- They did do a lot of walking and she was exhausted. Once entering the keep, Bird-Imshael flew off her shoulders and into the sky. 

“Stay out of trouble!” She called after him, making her way towards the campfire to eat a quick meal. 

For the new few hours Arden sat by the warm campfire and wrote in one of her journals she kept on her. They were filled with maps and doodles from her travels. Right now she was in the process of mapping some of the elven ruins here in Emprise du Lion. After Corypheus is defeated, Arden wanted to publish a series of maps and notes on the Elven ruins she’s encountered across Thedas. She has never been this far south since before the the Mage rebellion had begun, it was exciting to see just how much elven history was down here especially in the Dales. As a child in her clan she had only learned about the history of the Elves of Arlathan, nothing on the Elves of the Dales. 

Arden had finished her map making for the day as the sky began to darken, she shut her journal and told her companions goodnight, though she thought it was suspicious that Imshael had yet to show himself after hours of being back.

“Are you sure we can trust your demon friend?” Varric spoke up as Arden got up from her position on the ground. 

“I’m not sure, so far he hasn’t done anything, well terrible. I stand behind my decision to keep him alive.” Arden spoke, uncomfortable with the topic. As much as she loved Varric, she didn’t think she could trust him with the fact she was bedding the same de-choice spirit. She corrected herself. He still didn’t know about her and Anders, and she wanted to keep it that way. She was luckily enough that Imshael also wanted to keep their relationship secret- or he just respected her wishes in not wanting to tell anyone. 

Varric’s gaze softened a bit when she looked to make enough contact with him. “I understand birdie, I just don’t trust him with how….chummy he is with you. That’s all. Be safe and goodnight”

Arden bid him another good night and made her way to her quarters, well tent. The keep was still in ruins, so her tent was set up in what would be the master quarters. With Imshael gone it worried her. What was he doing? Especially here in Emprise du Lion without her? She thought as she made her way up the stairs. She expected another cold night, since Imshael seemed to be missing. But as she came up into her quarters she noticed a roaring fire that was not there before.  _ ‘Huh. That’s odd.’   _ She thought. She then walked around the fire to the front of her tent and open the flap up to peer inside. And there inside was Imshael, laying flat on his back his arms crossed behind his head and eyes closed. He bore a smirk on his face.

“It took you long enough to join me.”

“I was working in one of my journals.” She spoke, walking inside the tent. With someone her height she could easily stand inside without restraint. 

“Mapping the keep are you?” he spoke, opening his eyes and sitting up one of the now two bedrolls. Arden nodded as she began to peel off her leather armor, the armor was keeping her warm but it was uncomfortable to sleep in. The whole time she undressed he watched intently, and hungrily. 

Folding her armor into a neat pile in the corner of the tent, she flopped onto the free bedroll just inches away from Imshael.

“What have you been doing all this time?” Arden asked. 

“Just finished up some last minute personal things. Cut some ties, since I'm now working for the inquisition. Nothing to concern yourself with” He smiled. “And of course I brought some firewood and stole a few extra blankets to keep you extra warm tonight. I have some other plans as well” He winked at her. And Arden let out a groan.

“Just because you did a few nice things for me doesn't mean you're getting sex as a reward.” She rolled her eyes as he pouted. 

“Common Ardy” He whined. “I’m touch starved I admit it.” He reached his arms towards her pulling her to him, He wrapped his arms around her gently and kissed her cheek softly. “I missed you” he whispered.

“You’ve gone soft on me” She whispered back and smiled at his tenderness. He might get what he wanted after all.

“I knew I could convince you.” Imshael kissed her cheek one last time before moving his head into the crook of her neck, he left kisses as he traveled down her jaw and neck. Arden relaxed into his arms and let out a content sigh. Then his kissing turned into light biting. He pulled her into his lap and Arden could feel his hardness against her leg.

“Someone’s happy to see me” She mumbled, feeling his mouth smirk against her collarbone. He then bit down, hard and began to suck, leaving a mark. 

Imshael left little love bites here and there until Arden got bored with it. She pushed him away and turned herself to straddle him. So she could finally face him and kiss him for the first time in weeks. 

She was gentle at first, but when he wrapped his arms back around her he deepened the kiss She opened her mouth quickly and from then on he was all tongue. It was nice though, he was being a bit rough which honestly was what she needed. She could feel the drool dripping down the sides of her mouth when she finally had to pull away for air. 

She let out a gasp when they parted, saliva connected their mouths still and Imshael grinned.

“You mortals and your need for breathing. It’s an inconvenience I say.” And with that Arden snorted.

“Not everyone can be a spirit like you, Imshael.” She replied when she finally had enough air to talk.

“Come here…I’m not done with you yet” He smirked and pulled her back into another kiss.


End file.
